Transformers
by carlj5051
Summary: War has waged on the planet of Cybertron for millions of years between the Autobots and Decepticons; but as desperation drives both sides to search for any means to victory, their war spreads across the cosmos and begin anew on the fledgling planet Earth.
1. Autobot Prelude

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Disclaimer: ****_"Transformers" and all related media, merchandise and trademarks do not belong to me and I am not making any money from using them in this fictional work. They belong to their respective companies and I am not affiliated with them in any way whatsoever._**

**Autobot Prelude**

Somewhere, deep within the cold vastness of space, a ship rocketed through the cosmos, destination…..unknown. Blazing onward with an assured since of purpose and urgency, the massive vessel's destination may yet to have been fully determined, but the outcome of its mission was denied the luxury of anonymity. It was quite simple actually, success could bring about the resources necessary to win the war and at last bring peace to their world. Failure, on the other hand…..failure was all but an assurance of their complete defeat. No, defeat was not the proper term; defeat did not fully encompass the level of destruction and death that this mission's failure would bring about. They had already been defeated numerous times through the seemingly endless war that consumed their world, and yet they persevered time and time again, through near overwhelming circumstances to fight onward. Defeat in battle, while significant, could not begin to encompass the weight of the failure of their current expedition. No, to fail now would all but guarantee the complete genocide of his kind. If they failed…..if he failed, the legacy of the Autobots would be one only of memory…..memory of their complete and utter annihilation at the hand of the Decepticons.

Optimus Prime, chosen leader of the race of autonomous cybernetic beings known as Autobots, paused in his thoughts. Failure…..no, this was not the time to consider such a thing, as desperate as the situation was, now was the time to focus on ensuring the success of the mission at hand. Within the commanders quarters of the Ark (their deep space vessel), Optimus (or Prime, as he was known to some), refocused his attention on the multiple display screens in front of him. A dazzling array of technical specs, personnel info, navigational statistics, data logs, and various other types of information danced across the screens in an almost hypnotic sequence. For a lesser being, it would have simply been overwhelming, but for a Transformer (as the robotic Cybertronians had come to be known) it flowed like a calm stream. For Optimus, it was as simple as counting his digits to process all the info before him, but again he found his mind wondering beyond the onscreen data. His mind drifted back to the past; a past filled with pain and loss, sadness and frustration, doubt and indecision. He also pondered into an uncertain future, grasping for understanding and hope, like an organic life form desperate to breathe. Would they find the source of energy they so desperately needed? Could his Autobots hold out against Megatrons forces until they were able to return to Cybertron? Had he done the right thing? That last question burned through his circuits with far more intensity than the others. Had he made the right decision to lead this expedition, when the Autobots were so close to total collapse on their home world?

No.....he was doing it again, he was allowing the doubts that came with the burden of leadership to sway his judgment. There were no certainties or perfect decisions, this was something he understood with full clarity, but choices had to be made and a path had to be chosen. As leader of the Autobots, it was his responsibility to make those choices, and his duty to lead the Autobots through the repercussions of those choices, be they for better or worse. It wasn't that Optimus was one to make quick or uninformed decisions; as much as possible, he attempted to use his own good judgment, the powerful but incredibly difficult to control resources of the Matrix (one of their most precious resources, and a key to understanding the past as well as the future), and the input of his loyal Autobots. From his most trusted advisors and commanders to the youngest of his fighters, his faith and trust in his Autobots was absolute. No, it wasn't the lack of forethought that haunted him so, just the simple fact that he alone could not make everything right. It might have seemed wasteful to think in such terms, but deep down, Optimus wanted nothing more than to do right by every single Autobot, and for the whole of Cybertron itself. Their world had suffered so much pain and abuse, and his Autobots had given all they had to an existence of endless war and turmoil. So many had sacrificed their lives and had never known a day of true peace. With every ounce of his being he wanted to bring peace to the few valiant ones that were still fighting for their future, and no matter the foolishness of holding on to the near impossible ideals of peace and prosperity, he would never stop pursuing them. Optimus would never rest until his Autobots knew the loving embrace of peace, and Cybertron was returned to its one time greatness that seemed to have faded into distant fantasy. Maybe hope could be considered a weakness, but it was a weakness he chose to fully embrace. His doubts gave him pause, but they also gave him renewed vision, and he would see this and every possible mission after it through, until the battle was won or his spark ceased to function.

Optimus was awakened from his reverie by the sound of the door indicator announcing a visitor's presence. He had become so lost in his thoughts that he had almost forgotten the final command briefing before the majority of the Ark's crew entered stasis. "Come in." he calmly replied, once again allowing his mind to purge the doubts and unknowns, and focus on the task at hand. With a slight metallic grind, the door slid aside and his command crew filed in for briefing. Optimus glanced out of window into the black abyss of space with a renewed sense of purpose. Their destination was no longer unknown; their destination was hope.....their destination was the future.


	2. Decepticon Prelude

**Decepticon Prelude**

Sometime earlier…..

_Cybertron…..a massive, mechanized, interconnected planetoid welcomed a new dawn, as one of its golden suns began its ascent. The warming rays of sunlight ran across the landscape like a tidal wave, crashing across the metallic surfaces of the Transformers home world, and exploding outward in a brilliant array. The Transformers…..a race of sentient, cybernetic robots unlike any other known life forms, seemed to represent a perfect union with their equally unique planet, but beneath the gloss and gleam there was far more than meets the eye. The initial blinding display of reflected light dimmed, giving way to a much clearer, soberer image of the planet. Beyond the initial dazzling metallic sheen of some areas, lay a vast wasteland of scarred, bruised, and utterly devastated scenery. From the scorched surface areas, to a multitude of still smoldering, half collapsed towers, the vast majority of Cyberton left little mistake of its current circumstances…..it was being decimated in the midst of war. _

_In fact, a state of war was the only existence Cybertron had known for millions of years. It was war that had rendered this once miraculous technological paradise, into a mangled, deteriorating mass of destruction. Like so many other worlds, and so many other civilizations, Cybertrons inhabitants had fallen prey to civil war. It was a war that they had known almost since the beginning of their very existence, and with very few notable exceptions, it had remained ever-present. The Transformers conflict was not one of incredible depth, or a long storied rational, it was fairly simple…..subjugation versus freedom. Two ideals, which on the surface were complete polar opposites, seemed the simplest of desires and yet the complexity of their weight carried the fate of both factions._

_The peace seeking Autobots, led by the noble and courageous Optimus Prime, initially only desired to be allowed to live in tranquility, but the gods of fate are rarely rewarding of such a prize as peace, without the most dire of sacrafices. Desire and reality were brothers that held each other in the utmost contempt, and for the Autobots, peace would never be given, it would have to be earned through hellish warfare. The reality of war was now the mainstay of the Autobots existence, with the desire for peace slowly fading into a distant fantasy. The peace they sought could only be won by the complete defeat of their enemies, the Decepticons. Unfortunately, the long fight for peace had revealed to the Autobots the depths to which they would have to sacrifice, in order to realize any sense of real peace. _

_The Decepticons, led by the brutally ruthless Megatron, could not simply be defeated by winning a glorious victory on the battlefield, for many had already been won. The Decepticons were driven…..driven with a desire to conquer or destroy anything and everything that stood before them. Their desire for conquest could only be matched by the Autobots equally intense desire for lasting peace, and it was the realization of these clashing motivations that drove the intensity of fighting on both sides completely to the brink of annihilating the other. It was a bitter reality for the Autobots, they had to fight, and there were no alternatives. They could not run and simply hope to live a separate existence from the Decepticons. For their enemies, their very existence represented an ever-present threat. It was a threat that could not be ignored or bargained with, they either accepted total suppression or be eliminated. For the Decepticons, the Autobots future was one of memory…..the memory of a weak, subservient and derivative Transformer subset that needed to be put down, like a rabid beast. Despite their inferiority, the Autobots did represent a threat, and that could not be denied or ignored. The Decepticons knew that there were very few known species that could stand against their might. With the Autobots destroyed, domination of the universe itself might be within Megatrons grasp, and if destroying their Autobot counterparts was necessary to achieve that goal…so be it._

_For the Autobots, to fight was not simply the only choice, it was their duty to defend all other life that would fall in harms way, if the Decepticons weren't stopped. Both sides were fully committed to their beliefs and willing to sacrifice their very lives to accomplish their goals. The only certainty that there would continue to be war…..there would continue to be death…..their home world of Cybertron would continue its suffering._

Kaon, a massive city in the southern regions of Cybertron, took its turn to welcome the suns embrace. As the light streamed across the landscape, Kaon revealed a far different visual spectacle than the majority of Cybertron, for it was not a city in shambles. Kaon was a magnificent site to behold. Great care had been taken to ensure that this city, unlike the rest of the planet, would remain in consummate condition and be a beacon for what lay beyond the war. Its stunning beauty and pristine care didn't come easily; so much had gone into the protection of the Decepticons capitol city. From the exceptional design work of his top engineers, to the never ending labor carried out drones and slaves, Megatrons crown jewel of Kaon was a diamond in the rough of Cybertron. Slaves…..the thought brought a chilling smirk across Megatrons face. Who said he had no compassion for the Autobots? He was very compassionate…..that they be exactly what they were designed to be, laborers, workers, and slaves. The massive Decepticon leader peered out from a balcony-like terrace on his towering command center, and absorbed the sights, sounds, and tangible energy of his city. It was glorious, but it was merely a piece of the larger puzzle that had been set in place, there still remained much more to be done.

His prize city was not without its blemishes, there were still signs of battle scars from years past that could be found beyond the outward luster, and it was Megatron that had ordered they remain. Battle scars were not necessarily one of the hideous reminders of war; they could also represent badges of accomplishment that had been earned in the most brutal of ways. While his physical structure was in excellent condition, for the most part, Megatron was a warrior, and like a true warrior his body had endured unimaginable trauma over time. Megatron had endured; devastating plasma blasts, explosives damage that nearly melted his circuits, shrapnel piercings that had torn through his vital internal systems, and multiple limb severing injuries. It was more than most of his Decepticon warriors combined, and yet he lived to fight on, every time. He had been repaired, upgraded, and essentially rebuilt, numerous times, thanks to the miraculous technological skills of his race. It would have been simple enough to have all of his external battle scars completely repaired, but he chose to keep some scars visible on his exterior. His battle scars were a source of pride, reminders of the cost of victory. He was a warrior…..no…..the warrior, and when it came to battle and none could stand against him. Friend and foe alike, Megatron had crushed any opponent who dared to challenge him, typically leaving only a smoldering carcass as a reminder of why HE was the undisputed Decepticon leader. Not even the legendary Optimus Prime could match him in single combat. Although even Megatron acknowledged the Autobot leader's immense power presented a challenge like no other he had faced.

Megatrons smirk had become a hate filled sneer at the very thought of Prime. Time and time again, Optimus Prime had prevented the complete ascension of the Decepticons to absolute power. So many times, they had the Autobots on the brink of total defeat, only to have Prime rally his minions into a temporary reprieve. Typically, the Autobots victories were due to the inept leadership and strategic blundering of his warriors, more than their own fighting prowess. Unconsciously, his massive claw-like fingers tightened into a fist that generated enough pressure to turn coal into diamonds. "My warriors." he quipped behind a clenched jaw. His disdain for the weakness of the Autobots was understood, but the constant failure of his own soldiers was absolutely reprehensible. The Decepticons were far superior physical specimens of advanced cybernetic engineering, when compared to the Autobots, and should have been capable of dominating all physical confrontations. They were built for all forms of combat and had unparalleled adaptability. They were structurally designed to sustain the harshest punishment, and possessed the most advanced weaponry, capable of laying waste to whole worlds. They had even pushed the boundaries of their transforming technology into new facets of immeasurable potential, and yet the "inferior" Autobots had managed to hold their own for millions of years. It was not the physical capability that had failed them; it was the inconsistent and unstable unity of his forces that allowed their enemies to further their existence. Egos, endless feuding, lies and betrayal, secret agendas, and unforgivable cowardice; these were the weaknesses that held the Decepticons from attaining complete vicory. Megatron was the ultimate warrior, but he was also a leader and understood the complexities that being a leader presented. He ruled with an iron fist, and for certain sins (cowardice, betrayal, and repetitive failure, chief among them) the punishment was simple…..instant (although hopefully painful) death. Those who crossed that line met a swift and violent end, and the remains were left for all others to absorb. What remained was an almost tangible aura of fear, followed by a renewed sense of obedience and dedication. Megatron could feel his circuits sizzle with satisfaction at the thought of instilling terror into another, be it an Autobot or one of his own. There was nothing like seeing the fear in the optic censors of another, after he demonstrated his brutal authority. It was like ripping into their very sparks and sending a ghostly, cold chill through their circuits. Of course, in most cases there was more than fear there; hatred, disgust, contempt, and perhaps even admiration by some, but it was the fear that was most prominent…..it was the fear that gave Megatron control.

Still, Megatron knew that it took more than fear to be an effective leader; rule through fear was only effective when the fear was tangibly present. Take away the direct, overwhelming fear and many wouldn't hesitate to stab you in the back. That was a lesson burned into the violent history of the Decepticons, and it had been a costly one. After the initial Decepticon uprising millions of millennia ago, it was that very problem that prevented the Decepticons from easily dispatching their Autobot counterparts and beginning their ascension to universal power. One time allies turned against one another, different factions formed and attempted to overpower each other, leadership was in constast flux, and many leaders had been assassinated or killed in combative competition with their own soldiers. The internal conflict had nearly broken the Decepticon regime and allowed the Autobots precious opportunity to regroup from certain demise. Among the chaos, Megatron emerged and quickly brought order to the insanity. He refocused the Decepticons on a greater goal than simple territorial squabbles. They had a whole universe to conquer, not just Cybertrons regional territories. Megatron quickly found the most exceptional and talented soldiers within his ranks, and with their aid, brought structure and strategy to the Decepticons. In only a short time, he unleashed the full fury of a focused Decepticon armada against their enemies, and the Autobots were now on the brink of total defeat. No…..Megatron would not let the latest lapse in his warriors focus derail their victory once again, not with Prime still functional and capable. That kind of foolish misstep could quickly destroy all they had gained, and even bring about their own demise. Megatron scanned across his city, and took in the greatness they had achieved, but felt the ever-present hunger for more. No…..the time of the Decepticons was at hand and his warriors would win the day, once and for all.....or face a wrath beyond imagination.

The voice of Shockwave, one of his most loyal lieutenants, crackled to life over the comm system, "Lord Megatron, Starscream and his seeker team have returned from the Border Regions." Megatron let his demeanor lighten and his once fiercely distraught face, now betrayed a devious smile of renewed intent. "Excellent! Have the command team assembled immediately." Megatron turned his gaze once more to his capitol city, as the faint sound of Shockwave acknowledging his order faded into the background. Yes.....the time had come to amass his forces and crush Prime and the Autobots once and for all. "Soon Prime…..very soon."


	3. A Fate Beyond The Stars

**Chapter One….. A Fate Beyond The Stars**

The light of the yellow son Cyrix Minor gleamed brightly off the metallic surfaces of Cybertron, producing a brilliant array of colors high above the massive capital city of Iacon. Bathed in the vibrant display, the once magnificent city could do little to hide its glaring blemishes. The light gave way to the brutality of a city engulfed by war. Many of the towering buildings were scorched and darkened from the carnage of battle, while others lay in massive heaps of smoldering metal. On the outskirts of the city, pillars of smoke billowed into the air, where constant Decepticon bombardments tested the cities defensive shielding for any weaknesses. Arcing sparks of energy could be seen and heard here and there, and a slight haze of smoke and debris remained ever-present. Even amongst the backdrop of such brutal conflict, there remained a quiet strength within the city. The damage was significant, but it could eventually be repaired. The scars were evident, but they were merely attempts at achieving a deeper, permanent destruction which the Decepticons had yet to attain. It was a city that had seen millions of years of endless battles and yet it still stood; broken and bruised, but still functional. Iacon gave an accurate reflection of the current state of the Autobots, in the seemingly never-ending war; they were damaged, tarnished, and worn, but they were far from defeated and had plenty of fight left in them.

Escaping between the colorful tapestries of light, an Autobot shuttle craft rocketed away from the city, and quickly surrounded itself in the darker, more subdued background of space. While it was quite common for Autobot shuttle crafts to ferry passengers from Cybertron to one of the two orbiting moon bases, the circumstances of this particular trek had a heightened sense of mystery and urgency. Raising even more tension was the fact that the Decepticons had recently implemented a highly devastating defensive blockade, to hamper the Autobots ability to travel beyond their homeworld. Only a short distance beyond the grasp of Cybertrons gravity laid a honeycomb-like ring of sensory probes, weaving a near impenetrable web for any craft attempting to break through. At the slightest sign of detection, a myriad of mayhem would be unleashed on whoever had foolishly attempted to traverse the web. Locking in on the location of whatever was approaching, the sensory probes closest to the intruder would triangulate their movement toward the target, closing any gaps of escape in the web and tightening the noose on the intrusion. Once within close proximity, they could unleash a torrent of weapons, from synchronized plasma cannon fire to clusters of motion tracking electromagnetic mines. In addition to the dangers of the probes themselves, lay the inevitable response of fighter drones from one of the many Decepticon docking stations orbiting Cybertron. While the drones were far from elite Decepticon warriors, their large numbers, intense firepower, and lack of fear or hesitance made them an imposing force to deal with. If that seemingly suicidal array of obstacles wasn't enough, there was always the ultimate concern that a nearby squadron of Deception fighters would fall upon the intruder. The Decepticons aerial combat skills were legendary, and presented a fortified front the Autobots had yet to ever match. The deadliest among them were know as the "seekers", and they more than any other faction of Decepticon, had caused the Autobots endless bouts of grief and destruction. Without a doubt, the once short hop between Cyberton and the moon bases had now become a fast and furious race, that left little margin for error. Ultra Magnus shifted his massive frame in the command chair of the shuttle, and let his errant thoughts fade into the background. The Autobots had good intelligence that this particular section of the blockade was still experiencing technical difficulties (from some of their recent efforts to disrupt it), but regardless he knew the trip ahead could be serious. The task might be daunting, but it was a mission and regardless of the challenges, it had to be accomplished.

As the shuttle rapidly closed in on the Decepticon blockade, the crew went about their preparations and routines with a sense of nervous anticipation, but quiet determination. The tension wasn't present simply due to the obstacle course ahead; it was also brought on greatly in part to the unknown and urgent circumstances of this particular trip. The war had taken a turn for the worse lately, and the Autobots were being intensely pressured by the Decepticons on all fronts. Many courageous fighters had lost their lives in recent battles, and they had to give up preciously sparse territory to the relentless Decepticon onslaught. Megatron smelled blood, and he was pressing his advantage and going for the death blow. It seemed as if the Autobots were on the brink of total collapse, and many couldn't help but wonder if the recent flurry of activity away from Iacon was a sign of a major move to come. Some speculated that Prime was simply moving more of the injured and non-combatants off of Cybertron to the relative security of the moon bases, in order to facilitate a more efficient battlefront. Others whispered at the possibility that Optimus simply knew the Autobots defeat was at hand, and was preparing for a mass evacuation. While no one sat well with even the slightest notion of fleeing, the odds were incredibly stacked against them. The numbers of dead and injured were mounting daily, and the vastly deficient veteran leadership had led to poor execution of many battle plans. Their continually shrinking territory on Cybertron was growing sparse (practically only Iacon itself was still under Autobot control), and the near critical lack of energon and other resources only foreshadowed bleak conclusions. The weight of their situation pulled on all the Autobots heavily, but perhaps the upcoming meeting would present some sign of renewed hope.

The time for wonder and worry quickly came to an end, as the Autobots system wide, fully integrated super computer Teletran, broadcast a verbal warning, across the comm system, "Approaching the perimeter of the Decepticon blockade!" Ultra Magus, the ever-ready and steady-handed commander he always was, began issuing directives and prepared himself for action. "Bluestreak, give me all channels on the comm." The usually jovial Autobot followed through with his orders without a whim of his typical wisecracks or a "take it easy guys" remarks. He knew as well as every one, this was the time to focus; the jokes could wait…..if they survived. "You have all channels." he intently acknowledged. "Attention all Autobots, we have reached the blockade and are about to begin our run to moon base two. I know there is a great sense of apprehension because of the recent blockade tragedies, but I also know you are all disciplined soldiers, capable of maintaining order despite the difficult circumstances. We must focus on the task at hand and be ready to meet any challenge that befalls us. I have full confidence that each and every one of you will execute your duties to the best of your ability. This trip might get intense, but we will see it through." Ultra Magnus ended his address and tried once again to focus, but even a mind as disciplined as his own, couldn't escape delving back into the tragedy he'd just mentioned.

It had been only a few weeks earlier, when the punishing Decepticon offensive had forced the Autobots to realize that the eventual evacuation of Cybertron was nearly upon them. Several territories that the Autobots occupied, were under severe direst and were constantly on the verge of capture or being obliterated altogether. Most who had survived the chaos fled to the capital city of Iacon, which was their only secure strong-hold on Cybertron. Optimus quickly realized that the flood of injured and civilian refugee Autobots, mixed with an eventual head-on battle with the Decepticons at Iacon, could lead to massive carnage to those unable to fight. He convened the leadership council and suggested that the time had come for the long planned migration to the moon bases. No one was really surprised to hear the suggestion made, although few thought a mass retreat would happen as quickly as it was, but everyone realized their choices were greatly limited. It was quickly agreed that most non-combatant personnel and the heavily injured would be transported to moon base one, which was being setup as their new base of operations (while moon base two was being used for energy harvesting, construction and manufacturing purposes).

The creation of the moon bases had begun millions of years ago, as simply an expansion of the Transformers territory, but as Cybertron collapsed into civil war, the Autobots realized they could be used as fall back positions from the planetary warfare. Moon base three was all but abandoned, in an effort to complete the initial two, and its unfinished framework was an eerily cold reminder of how everything prior to the war had fallen into an almost inanimate state of existence. One of the very few bright spots throughout the long war had been the installation of revolutionary new shield generators on the moon bases, which were created by Jaxer and Wheeljack (the Autobots legendary chief engineer and his equally skillful protégé). The initial beta system had been created to protect Iacon, and had worked so effectively that Optimus immediately ordered both moon bases be outfitted with similar systems. The moon base shield generators had been a vast improvement beyond Iacons, and their immense power coupled with their relatively low energy requirements, were a triumphant moment for the Autobots, as the could repel even the most brutal Decepticon onslaughts. With a deeper sense of security in their defenses, the migration quickly came together, in hopes of not giving the Decepticons any chance at discovering their movements. Three cruisers, along with an accompaniment of support ships, launched on what should have been a short flight that would have put over a thousand Autobot lives in a more secure environment, but unfortunately disaster was to be their only greeting. While the Decepticons had seemingly been unaware of the Autobots plans, Megatrons spies were everywhere and unbeknownst to them, the Decepticons had begun implementing their own plans in response to the Autobots migration from Cybertron. Through his network of spy information, Megatron and his commanders had pieced together the Autobots plan to shift some of their forces to their satellite moon bases, and they had been preparing the perfect counter maneuver. The Decepticons had long been the masters of air combat on Cybertron, but Megatron desired to take that a step further, and commit to total aerospace domination beyond the confines of the planet. They had long been preparing an extensive orbital blockade, to limit the Autobots ability to approach or depart from the planet, and the news of the Autobots plans was the perfect timing to unleash it. Over an unbelievably short period of time, they quickly coordinated the launch of their probes into orbit from the multiple docking stations they controlled around Cybertron, and initiated their defensive perimeter around the planet.

As they launched themselves toward a new found sense of security, the unsuspecting Autobots had no clue of the trap that was enveloping them. Upon detecting the surrounding barrage of probes, they were unsure of what their purpose or function was; though they were not naïve enough to believe they were harmless, but by then the trap had been sprung. Before they could abort or take evasive maneuvers, the Autobot ships found themselves pursued by a horde of Decepticon fighter drones (which had been launched from the docking stations). While this in itself was imposing enough, what they didn't realize was that the drones were not so much attacking the Autobot ships, as much as coaxing the Autobots further into the deadly confines of the blockade. The Autobot fighters broke away from the convoy and engaged the drones, in an attempt to give the cruisers more time, but with the overwhelming number of drones, it was more than apparent it would be a hopeless effort. With the fighters attempting to provide cover, the cruisers accelerated warily through the maze of probes, attempting to outrun the ambush. This is when the true terror of the Decepticons ploy was unleashed, as the probes nearest the ships, began releasing torrents of small electromagnetic tracking mines. Keyed onto the close proximity of the cruisers, the mines began detonating in a brilliant array of destruction, pulverizing the ships. In just a few seconds, nearly everything within the vicinity had been completely destroyed. Only a few fighters, that had been farthest away from the explosions, had been spared, and they could do nothing but look on in anguish, as their comrades were reduced to debris. It had been one of the worst losses of life, at one time, in the entire war with more than twelve hundred Autobots perishing (including nearly two dozen sorely needed commanders). For Ultra Magnus personally, it wasn't just the searing pain of loosing friends, or the deep sorry he felt toward his fallen soldiers; what burned in his circuits the most was that it the Decepticons would employ such a tactic on those who were not able to fight. A soldier's death on the battlefield was one thing, but to slaughter the innocent and injured….it was unforgivable.

"Orders, sir", Seaspray gingerly asked in his gurgled dialect. Ultra Magnus once again snapped out of his momentary reverie, and glanced at his pilot. Though he masked it well, Ultra Magnus could detect a slight bit of concern on Seaspray's visage, and he mentally chided himself for letting his personal emotions interfere with his focus. As a veteran commander, he knew that his soldiers fed off his leadership and mannerisms, (especially the younger inexperienced ones) and letting his guard down to show uncertainty and doubt could be a dangerous weapon that could assault his troops from within. He quickly made a mental note to put away anymore personal reflections, and began to issue out orders with a renewed sense of focus and authority. "Bluestreak, have we received confirmation on shield entry coordinates?" "Yes, sir, we are good to go. Moon base one has transmitted the shield entry data, and they have a fighter squadron on standby for assistance. Prime wishes us luck and says he'll see us soon." Ultra Magnus noted the slight smirks of renewed confidence amongst the crew, at hearing their leader's words. One thing about Prime, he seemed to always know when to offer the seemingly perfect empowering gesture. "Very well…..Teletran, upload final approach and shield entry data, engage active sensor radar jamming and secure all systems for stealth running. Bluestreak, transmit the go confirmation to the moon base. Seaspray…..take us in." As quickly as he could hammer out the orders, his men (and Teletran) were on task, confirming orders and getting their push underway. The low level roar of the fusion engines dulled to a mild hum as stealth runners were engaged, minimizing audible signatures and temperature variations. All systems aboard the shuttle (including the Autobots themselves) engaged secure control conditions to minimize energy output and unnecessary activity. Seaspray began to deftly maneuver the shuttle along the course Teletran concurrently plotted, inwardly hoping the skillful supercomputer had been able to map out a safe trajectory through the Decepticon gauntlet.

Inside the passenger compartment of the transport shuttle, chief Autobot medical officer Ratchet shifted his large frame in his seat and tried to focus his attention on the data display screen embedded within his arm. Streams of heavily encrypted data reports raced across the screen that only an advanced Cybertronian mind could comprehend. Fortunately his was such a mind, and he had become accustomed to easily deciphering the multitude of information. The ability to understand what was on the screen was one thing, but the meaning behind the data was something he had yet to fully grasp in his millions of years of existence. He took it all in stride, but at the same time, it pained his circuits to once again read the casualty and injury reports of his fellow Autobots. Being one of the elder Autobots and specifically having been a medical officer most of his days, Ratchet tried to recall the last time a single day had past without accounting for the dead, working feverishly to save the injured, or having to see the pain in the optics of his fellow Autobots when he had to give devastating news. In all honesty…..he couldn't recall such a day anymore. Glancing away from the dour cycle of statistical sorrows, he peered out the port side window and looked at the dark expanse of space around them. In the distance, he could make out the faint metallic glint of Cybertron, fading away as the maneuvered toward the moon bases. Ahead he could make a growing number of sensory probes that made up the Decepticon blockade, ominously looming before them, beckoning the slightest detection to unleash a torrent of misery upon them. Ratchet paused in his thoughts to listen to Ultra Magnus give a few encouraging words before they entered the blockade. With a slight smirk, Ratchet eased back in his seat, retracted his data display screen back within the protective cavity of his armored body, and ensured that all his non-essential internal systems were inactive. He'd had enough gloomy thoughts for the day, with a little luck his current reverie would be the highlight of the day's negatives, and they would have an uneventful journey. Funny as it might seem, being a medical officer had long ago eased his circuits of the overwhelming terrors that typically preceded the chaos that surrounded wartime. So many times, he'd had to put the paralyzing fear of his own death and destruction out of his mind in order to come to the aide of a comrade, and at this point, it was almost second nature to suppress the fear and anxiety when things looked ominous.

Glancing around the compartment, he observed as the dozen or so Autobots made their mental and physical preparations just in case of a bumpy ride. Trivial systems were powered down, magnetic seating bonds were increased, and idol banter and activity ceased, as the always diligent Autobots maintained their discipline and focus…..well, most of them. Ratchet smiled at the sight of the brilliant, but often absent minded Autobot chief engineer Jaxer, continually tinkering with one of his millions of gadgets. "Jaxer, you might want to put that away before a concussion blast sends it back to invention heaven." "Huh?" Glancing up at his long time friend, Jaxer realized that he'd once again allowed himself to get lost in his world of experimentation and design….he also became aware that he'd nearly let the internal plasma torch he had been soldering with, nearly weld his seat neighbor in place. Retracting the torch, Jaxer offered a sympathetic shrug, to which Hoist returned a quite unsympathetic glower. Unable to control his laughter, Ratchet regarded the pair with much needed wit. "You two should take that act on a galactic tour." Easing back in his seat, Hoist finally eased off his annoyance and allowed the lightened moment to overtake him. "I'm not sure Ultra Magnus would share your ideas." he said with a sarcastic smirk that even his face plate couldn't hide. "Sorry about that Hoist, you know how I can get when I'm focused on something." Jaxer placed his latest gadget into on of his internal storage compartments and glanced out the window. The shuttle was deftly maneuvering through the maze of probes, guided by Teletrans' precision navigational data, Seasprays' skillful piloting, and protected by a sophisticated stealth system which he had recently upgraded. Seeing the Decepticon probes at such close vicinity was both nerve wracking and inspiring, as he could take a small sense of pride in the efficiency of his work on the shuttles defenses. Prideful as the moment might be, he would gladly trade it to be clear of the surrounding danger. "Hopefully it should only take fifteen minutes to get out of range of this gauntlet; these last few trips have done horrors to my cerebral circuitry." Ratchet nodded in agreement, he'd also recently made several ferrying trip to the moon bases as Optimus had the injured and disabled Autobots moved to a more secure location that offered better resources for care. Still…..this particular trip puzzled him greatly. There were three commanders aboard the shuttle, as well as a few other high ranking officers, and he knew that a prior shuttle had already transported several other key commanding officers to the moon base. Gathering so many leaders in one place was a great risk given their current down turn in the war (and the Decepticon penchant for discovering secretive activity), and Ratchet knew it must be of the utmost importance. What was particularly curious was the make-up of the shuttle crew headed to moon base two. Of the fifteen or so Autobots onboard, two-thirds were members of the engineering division, and he knew that almost every other engineer that could be spared had already been sent to moon bases two earlier. Jaxer had been there previously, supervising whatever covert project was underway, but had been called back to Iacon on dire need. He had inquired to his friend about the recent activity on the moon bases, but only received guarded avoidance in response. Prime was up to something major, and clearly it involved construction or building of some kind…..Ratchet could only guess as to what.

There weren't enough curses in the current Decepticon version of Cybertronian dialect to express how much disdain Skywarp had for orbital equipment maintenance duty, but he let a few fly toward the cold vastness of space, just for good measure. Why did he have to oversee these wretched, monotonous repairs? He was an elite seeker, third in command, he should be leading a battle group in an aerial assault on an Autobot stronghold, and instead he was reduced to leading an "elite" squadron of idiot beta class drones into battle against broken circuit boards on one of the orbital docking stations (which housed rapid response fighter drones). He glanced to the location of the drones working feverishly to repair the damage done by the Autobots. It looked like they'd used a concussion missile in a recent shuttle run through this sector to knock the fighter drone station out of commission. As much as he despised Autobots for their weak minds and general inferiority, he had to admire their technological creativity. No matter how many times the Decepticons had them on the cusp of total defeat, Optimus Prime and his followers always seemingly had another card to play, and it usually involved a new use of technology. Skywarp gazed toward the stars, taking in they're home world in all its battered beauty. It had been engulfed in war ever since his creation and quite honestly, he loved it. He enjoyed the constant chess match that the higher Cybertronian life forms had been playing for millions of years. Brutally battling each other constantly, always looking for a weakness to exploit in the other, pushing the limits of their astounding technology to best the other; it was a symphony of anarchy that he so enjoyed. That is, when he was able to participate in that orchestra of battle instead of assignments like his current one. As he moved back toward the work area, his optical sensors automatically adjusted their filters to diminish the intensity of Cyrix Major's ever present glow and he glanced at the surrounding net of sensory probes. While quite advanced in their own right, the overall effectiveness of the blockade required that Vectron (the Decepticon supercomputer counterpart to Teletran), manage the integrated flow of information throughout the networked probe array. With Vectron's uplink currently down on the docking station, there was a small but significant hole in their planetary defense net, and Skywarp had been "volunteered" to supervise its repair. Despite his contempt for the assignment, he knew it had its value and he would have it completed in short order. "Give me a status report on the repairs." he retorted to the lead drone. "All damaged circuitry has been repaired and the system upgrades are complete. The new fighter drones have been installed and the depleted energon cells were replaced. We can reestablish the uplink with Vectron within five minutes." Skywarp smiled with a sense of satisfied accomplishment, "Excellent! Bring Vectron online immediately, so I can get out of this desolate emptiness." Acknowledging his superiors commands, the lead drone quickly began to follow through on his orders and bring the docking station online. Skywarp turned his focus back to the stars and lost himself in thoughts of future battles.

The shuttle deftly maneuvered amongst the sea of probes, weaving an intricate path of precision piloting and real-time navigation adjustments. With Teletran patched directly into his neural net, Seaspray was making microscopic tweaks in flight path that the vast majority of organic life couldn't begin to comprehend, but for the Transformers, such was their technological endowment. Ultra Magnus had to admire the intensity with which Seaspray guided the craft; he had grown into one of the best pilots among the Autobots (at least among those who didn't use flight as a part of their alternate mode). "We should be about halfway through." Beachcomber remarked without even taking his optic sensors from the navigational screens, searching for any signs of disturbances or inbound activity. Tense situation or not, Bluestreak had gone as long as was Cybertronianly possible without any kind of quip, "Well so far so good." Though he was far too disciplined to show it, Ultra Magnus couldn't argue with that logic. The track record for attacks on shuttles since the blockade was installed was intolerably high, but maybe their recent intelligence reports and a little luck might see them through.

The shuttle passengers sat in relative silence, quietly counting the nanoseconds till they were within the protection of the moon bases shielding, and hoping things stayed quiet and unassuming. Never being one to follow the crowd (or to have a positive mindset), Huffer was compelled to express his utter lack of faith in their current circumstance…..for the tenth time. "I just have a bad feeling about this, something just doesn't feel right." While Huffer could almost always be counted on for his pessimistic outlook on anything, Gears (who wasn't known for his sunny disposition either) had heard enough. "Will you give it a rest! We gotta go, there's no way around these things, and if it we get blown to scrap…..well then you'll have nothing else to complain about, will you." The amount of disapproving glares let Gears know his critique wasn't appreciated, but being the grouch he perpetually was took precedence over others overly optimistic delusions. "Well, I'm just being honest. Maybe we make it, maybe we don't, but we don't have to listen to his endless qualms." Inserting his rank and diplomatic skills into the fire before it grew, Ratchet tried to quell the negative focus that was beginning to fester. "Gears, we are all entitled to feel what we feel, even Huffer, but both of you have been around long enough to know that we vets have to be strong for the youngins. Let's focus beyond this trip, and on what lies ahead for all of us. Obviously some major activity is on the horizon, and we all need to be prepared to step up and follow Primes' directive." Despite his dour demeanor, Huffer was as true as any Autobot could be and his while his dialogue often gave the appearance of doom and gloom, he wished no ill outcomes on himself or his fellow Autobots. "I'm sorry Ratchet; I didn't mean to bring everyone down. It just always seems like we're endlessly on the verge of catastrophe, and…I… Well, I know I shouldn't say things to spread anymore worry than we already have." Ratched peered over his shoulder to focus in on his longtime friend and colleague, "No need for apologies Huff, we all have our moments." Both hoping to lighten the mood and change the subject, Jaxer quickly pointed out that they were about two-thirds through the blockade. Jockeying to get a good view of what would hopefully be rapidly approaching open space and the moon base on the horizon, the Autobots momentary moral boost was tempered by the haunting sight surrounding them. They were passing through an area of the blockade heavily littered with debris from the migration disaster. Floating about in gravity-less dances of horror; the pieces of space craft, probe and mine remnants, bits of fighter drones, and even parts of fallen Autobots, made for an eerie display.

Ultra Magnus took in the debris field around them with controlled emotion, but silently he paid respect to the many that had perished here. As the shuttle eased through the heavier congestion of wreckage, small bits of debris that were too close for the shuttle to maneuver around were gently repelled by the shields back into their endless dance. There were no words spoken, no quips, no comforting reminders, no vows of revenge…..there was no need to say anything. Now was the time to focus and survive to the next battle, then the time for reflection would find itself at hand. Even though it was a somber choice to navigate directly through the debris field, it had less probe sensors than other parts of the blockade, the latest intelligence reports indicated there were still gaps in this sector of the blockade, and all the milling bits and pieces of debris increased the interference in the probes scanning ability. Ultra Magnus, thought it quite ironic but very much in Autobot fashion, that even in tragedy and death, his fellow Autobots found a way to lend a helping hand. Unfortunately, the gods of fate would not allow them to pass through undeterred in silent remembrance, in some cruel form of punishment; the stars would demand more bloodshed. As the shuttle banked subtly to avoid a larger piece of debris, the charred metal glanced ever so slightly off the shielding near the engines, falling into a slight spin. As the derelict floating mass of metal rotated, it revealed a horrifying sight; an undetonated magnetic proximity mine which was attached to the piece of debris. One could ask a million questions as to why this mine had not detonated on its initial contact some time ago, or why hadn't it simply been destroyed in the carnage that had clearly occurred earlier and created the wreckage it was attached to; but fate isn't often know for fairness or logical reasoning and the glaring irony of the moment would only be outweighed by the destructive consequences about to occur. As the shuttle began to ease past the explosive laden debris, the slight but direct electromagnetic distortion of the shielding, mixed with the minimal radiation and vibration of the engine, initiated both the unthinkable and simultaneously brutally obvious reaction. With inaudible chirps of impending doom and unseen visual displays of activity on the mine, it sacrificed itself with no compulsion, joining its long disintegrated brothers in a final attempt at Autobot butchery. The mine detonated, sending out a slight shockwave of concussive energy and a torrent of shrapnel, racing toward the unsuspecting Autobot shuttle. Driven by the forceful blast, fragments of metal tore through the shuttles shielding and penetrated only a small portion of the rear of the craft. The damage, while significant was more than sustainable for a quality piece of Autobot engineering, but the direct damage to one of the engines would not be forgiving. In a devastating secondary explosion, a huge section of the rear of the ship was consumed in a firestorm of ruin.

Vectron operated with efficiency in seconds that would have taken some intelligent organic life forms years. The Decepticon supercomputer had its uplink restored to the recently repaired docking station, and it was quickly reinitializing all the sensor probes that were in its vicinity, ensuring a synchronous connection with the rest of the orbital web of defense. As the beta drones secured all equipment and derelict materials into the shuttle, in preparation for their departure, Skywarp marveled at the supercomputers rapid execution. He had given kudos (albeit in thought only) to the Autobots technological creativity and skillfulness, but his own factions capabilities were nothing short of equally impressive. The technological chess match between the warring Cybertronians continued onward; move for move, and now it was to the Autobots to maneuver the next piece. In a surprising retort, Vectron issued a warning to the Decepticon seeker. "An instance of orbital incursion is in progress within the recently restored sensor vicinity. A shuttle of Autobot origin has sustained significant damage in sector ZX1A3 and vector analysis indicated its prior destination was one of the Autobot moon bases. An explosion has occurred and the shuttle has sustained significant damage, but is still functional. All probes within immediate area are tracking an intercept course. Do you wish to deploy fighter drones and notify Decepticon command?" Shaken out of his momentary shock by the last comment, Skywarps mind began to rapidly process and react to the situation. How in the hell could this be happening now? The Autobots must have known this section of the blockade was under repair and taken a chance to move a transport through, but how!! Taking quick action, he barked orders to Vectron, "Negative on command confirmation!! I will handle it myself. Send one squadron of fighter drones to intercept, disable the vessel if possible, and destroy if escape is imminent." Even before his sentence was complete, he could hear the mechanical clamor of fighter drones beginning to power up and the docking station bay doors opening for deployment. Quickly turning his focus to the lead drone, who had immediately come to attention and was awaiting instruction when Vectrons warning occurred, Skywarp issued a final command as he began moving toward the open bay doors. "Disengage from the docking station and return to Kaon. I will investigate this "disturbance" personally. When you arrive, have Starscream or Thudercracker contact me by direct secure connection. Not a word otherwise!!" Without even waiting to acknowledge response to his orders, Skywarp raced into the docking station hangar bay. The drone lacked the full independent sentient function of a Transformer, but they had some limited emotion functionality, and he understood a warning when it was issued. Boarding the shuttle hastily, the service drone and his counterparts prepared to return to Cybertron and leave the trials of battle to their Decepticon masters. Nearing the outer edge of the bay doors, one would think that Skywarp would have stop running toward the cold, gravity-less abyss of space (for organic life, other concerns such as a lack of atmosphere might tack precedence as well) without the aid of some form of space craft, but such was the gift of being a Transformer. Without breaking his stride, he disengaged his magnetic foot bonds and leapt out of the docking station and embraced the vast galactic sea. He did not simply float amiably; instead his highly advanced Cybertroian body began to reconfigure his form at a frightening rate. For an instant, it appeared as if his mechanized frame had exploded into thousands of pieces, but the individual parts did not expand away, never to be conjoined again, instead; they shifted, contorted, and quite literally transformed until the previously cybernetic biped had become a sleek Cybertronian jet. Instantly rocketing into the stars, he followed the energy trails of the fighter drones that had just departed. Skywarp inwardly cursed at this unsuspected turn of events. All he needed was for the knowledge to get to Megatron that an Autobot shuttle had gotten to the moon base, because he had not done his job quickly enough. The Decepticon leader had already shown his displeasure over the heightened shuttle flights that had managed to break the blockade, and there were few things in the universe worse than being in Megatrons disfavor. Still, Skywarp was quick-thinking and capable, and if he worked quickly, this unpleasant surprise could present a silver lining. "Vectron, give me the current coordinates of the shuttle and interface with my warp core to begin a dimensional rift sequence." As the supercomputer responded to his orders and prepped the complex data that would allow him to use his unique ability to warp, Skywarp found it ironic how such a mundane assignment was now turning into a relished opportunity for enemy engagement and possible accolade. If he was successful (and with Starscreams assistance in fabricating an appropriate guise for these events), this could turn out to be quite a prize indeed, and once again the symphony of battle warmed its instruments for a new sonnet.

The notion of the calm before the storm had once again to proven itself to be far more than mere instances of coincidence or similarity, the current circumstances aboard the Autobot shuttle craft only served to illustrate that the "calm" confirmed itself to be a dooming indicator of impending disaster. Only seconds before, it appeared as if they would have made it through daunting orbital defenses of the Decepticons with little fanfare, but now the Autobots found themselves enveloped in the very circumstances, which they prepared so meticulously to circumvent, yet nonetheless hoped to avoid. Warning indicators of varying location and tone sounded throughout the shuttle, small fires and arching electrical discharges could be seen, heard and felt in every direction, and almost all the shuttles Autobot occupants had been hurled from their prior positions and were in varying states of disarray; some injured, most just disoriented and bewildered. Fortunately, Ultra Magnus appeared to be in the latter category, and even if injured, he had little time for pain as he knew each second wasted was a step closer to a predicament far worse than their current situation. Even as his internal diagnostic systems began to evaluate is massive structures current functionality and ailments, the Autobot commander began to assess the damage to the shuttle and determine the condition of his crew. "Teletran, give me current shuttle status and damage assessment! Autobots, report injury and station condition! Does anyone have any idea what happened?" As quickly as their commander demanded answers and information, the shuttles crew (and computer) responded as quickly and competently as was currently possible. Bluestreak was relatively physically unscathed, but his mind was still reeling as to what had happened. They were getting close to the far edge of the blockade and he had begun scanning communication frequencies to see if they were getting beyond the probes distorting influences, when all hell broke loose. "Short range communications seem good, but long range systems are down, I think the subspace antenna is damaged or destroyed. I'm trying to get the backup systems initiated. Maybe one of the probes detected us? It sounded like we were hit from the rear." Beachcomber helped Seaspray to sit back in the pilots chair; the explosion had smashed him into the control panel rather violently. Fortunately, his head was thick and quite sturdy and in all likelihood, more damage had been done to the flight controls than his long time friend. "You ok, Seaspray?" The larger Autobot gave somewhat strangled but positive response, but given that his normal operating voice was quite…..odd, Beachcomber knew he was fine. He quickly glanced at their stations conditions as others began doing similarly, in response to their commanders directives. "Navigation and flight controls appear operational but with some malfunctioning. Inertial systems indicate we are have lost some of our thrust and stability controls, the engines must have been hit. I didn't pick up anything unusual on any radar screens, there's no way it was a probe engaging us, and there were no active inbound contacts, just minimal drifting debris." Inferno continued to spray fire suppressant along the weapons control systems, which from all appearances had fried internally. "Maybe some debris flew into the engine? Weapons control is cooked pretty good, lets hope we aren't gonna need to fight anytime soon." Ultra Magnus glanced at the hulking Autobot with a grim understanding of what he was referring to, and quickly turned his attention to his command chairs data terminal screen. A myriad of different systems and ship functions were being displayed, with an equally large display of status indicators, but Ultra Magnus was quickly deciphering what was priority and what could ignored for the moment. "It looks like the mainframe is shorting in and out, which is why some systems are down. Why hasn't the engine room reported in?" Knowing that the last question was aimed in his general direction, Bluestreak tried again to raise the engine room on the comm, but received no response. "There's no answer. I'll go check….." his statement trailed off as he turned to head toward the lift, but it was clear from the heavy damage it was not operational. Before he could head toward the manual stairwell, Grapple called from the personnel section. "I don't think there's anything but minor bumps and bruises in the passenger section, Ratchet is checking everyone out. Engineering took a bad hit, Teletran is indicating a substantial hull breach near engine three, but emergency internal shielding has been initiated. Jaxer, Hoist, and Trailbreaker have gone to check the damage, but you'll have to raise them on personal communicators, I think the intercom system is out back here. I'm headed to check the mainframe."

With information quickly gathering and his personnel taking quick action, Ultra Magnus was quickly began to formulate their next move. "Grapple, make sure you reinitialize the navigation, flight control, communication, and weapons systems. Whatever has happened, we can't sit just sit idol, it won't be long before the probes are on us." "Or worse….." from the look on Ultra Magus' face, it was apparent Bluestreaks additional commentary hadn't been needed or desired. "I'll keep trying to contact moon base one." Not loosing focus, Ultra Magnus turned his attention to his still dazed pilot, "Seaspray, if you're ok, try to maneuver back on course with whatever we've got. We have got to get moving asap. Beachcomber, as soon as Grapple gets the nav systems up, scan for anything headed our way. The same goes for you Inferno, as soon as the weapons systems are operational, prepare for imminent attack." The Autobots instantly focused on their assignments, fully aware of how precarious there situation was, and how much further it could devolve. Ratchets' advanced optical diagnostic scanners penetrated over, around, and through Huffers surface and internal systems, rapidly deciphering any damage or abnormal function. All indicators pointed to just a few surface scratches with his internal systems would repair in only a few hours. "Looks like you're in good shape, no worse for wear considering present circumstances." Huffer couldn't help but admire his old friend, even in the midst of disaster, Ratchet always tried to keep an aura of positive morale around everyone. "Ratchet, I'm so sorry about earlier…..maybe my complaining led to all this." Not letting him go any further, Ratchet cut his friend off and refocused the attention onto the current predicament. "No time for that now Huff, we gotta try to work this thing out. See if you can give Gears a hand with those hull welds at the front of engineering, we certainly don't need the hull breach getting any worse." Understanding the greater meaning behind the orders, Huffer acknowledged the orders with a nod and quickly moved toward the engineering compartment, to help the other still grumbling Autobot with repairs.

Gears used his electromagnetic elevators (recently installed in his arms) to maneuver a large metallic sheet into place, over a spot in the hull which Teletran indicated was showing signs of high structural stress. As the temporarily magnetized metal was skillfully manipulated in mid-air, it almost appeared as if a magician was performing an amazing feat of conjuring. Unfortunately, Gears technical skill far outweighed his showmanship. "Never fails…..Stupid Decepticons always hounding our case, no matter what we do….." As he inched the metallic slab into its final positioning, Huffer moved past his grumbling friend and extended his internal laser cutter to carve the metal into the precisely needed dimensions. "If there's one thing you can count on, it's the decepticons giving us a hard time." Moving adjacent to Huffer, Gears began to use his plasma torch to bond the freshly cut metal into place in order to strengthen the hull, where the blast had heavily weakened the ships frame. "Ain't that the truth. We're getting too old for this nonsense." The robotic odd couple continued with their work at a quick pace that was only matched by their dour and sarcastic commentary. Not far from them, a trio of larger, but equally focused Autobots attempted to salvage the mess that had become their shuttles engines. As they quickly assessed a plan of action, Jaxer contacted their commander through his personal comm. "Ultra Magnus, this is Jaxer at the engines! That sound? Its engine two, it's been heavily damaged and we're about to shut her down, there's no other options right now! Engine three has been completely destroyed and is mostly gone…" Jaxer paused a moment as the horrid sounds of engine two dulled down as Hoist brought it offline. "I think the ship should have more stabilized control now, but we're not going anywhere fast. Engine one seems to have escaped any serious damage, so that's all the propulsion we've got." Jaxer paused once again as Grapple emerged from the mainframe area to quickly reel off the supercomputers status. "Grapple said that all key systems should be reinitialized. We're gonna try to boost power to engine one and get the shields back online, Jaxer out."

As most of Teletrans systems came back online under (mostly) normal functionality, Beachcomber was the first to give an update, with news none wanted to hear. "I've got about a dozen probes closing in on our location from all directions. I can't be sure, but I'm also detecting several drone signatures coming in fast, the probes are trying to jam all signals." Bluestreak added to the grim report, "They definitely have comm systems jammed up, we've got no external communications." They were definitely in a bad situation, but Ultra Magnus was not one easily given to panic and no matter the outcome of their predicament, he was far from done." "Seaspray, get us back on course with everything she can muster. Try to steer through this debris a close as you can, it might affect the probes. Inferno, what's our shield status?" The large Autobot scanned his displays for any change, but there was none to be found. Clearly, the shuttles weapons and defensive systems had sustained severe damage. "They're completely down. My systems are friend. All ion cannons and missile batteries are offline. I've got almost nothing." Ultra Magnus cursed inwardly, the cards were clearly stacked against them, and it seemed if there was no ace in the hole to be found. With minimal engine power there was no way they could make it to within range of the moon base defenses before the probes (and most likely the fighter drones as well) were upon them. He was more than certain that the moon bases had detected the explosion and preceding activity with the blockade probes, but it was highly doubtful they could get there before the probes. They needed a way to buy a little time, and clearly it wasn't going to be through the engines. If they didn't even have shielding or functional weapons…..it was honestly just a matter of time. Beachcomber chimed in with an update that only served to raise the fervor within the shuttle. "Three probes have locked onto us, estimated time to intercept; three minutes." Growing desperate, Ultra Magus searched through his cerebral core for a solution. "Is everything shot? What about the countermeasures? The disrupter array?" Infernos' optics danced across his control panel at a frightening pace, but could find nothing but offline and nonfunctional responses. "Negative, they're down. Everything is….." He paused in mid sentence as he realized that one particular defensive mechanism was showing some sign of functionality. "Wait, the EMP system is partially up." Before his commander could even ask the question, Inferno clarified his response. "The system is operational and fully charged, but it won't fully engage." Wasting no time to try a decipher anything beyond what they had at hand, Ultra Magnus took what appeared to be their possible "ace", and made ready to play it. He attempted to contact Jaxer directly, but the Autobot engineer must have been juggling conversations. Using his command override, Ultra Magnus secured a communication channel to Jaxer and put all his hope and faith into a positive response from his engineer. "Jaxer! We've got almost two minutes till the Decepticon probes reach us. The EMP is functioning, but it won't engage. I need you to work your magic, and do it fast!" "I'm on it!" was the only response the engineer could muster or needed to say, as he and Trailbreaker raced to the mainframe.

Almost ripping off the panel that housed the defensive systems circuitry, the two engineers jacked directly into the system, and with Teletrans advanced guidance, began to scan for the malfunction ailing the EMP system. "Ninety seconds to intercept! The inbound fighter drones will be in attack range shortly!" Beachcomber took no joy in his countdown to their possible demise, nor had he utterly surrendered to panic, he simply focused on informing his fellow Autobots of what they needed to know, and silently prayed he continue to function beyond the next eighty seven seconds. A myriad of holographic displays of the internal mainframe circuitry was being projected from Trailbreakers' eyes (with Teletrans assistance); to help aid the Autobots search. Typically known for his absent minded behavior and flippant behavior, Jaxer was never more focused than when everything was on the line. Suddenly, his optic sensors spied what they desperately needed to find. "Wait! There it is! The igniter circuit has shorted out. Give me twenty seconds to fuse the connection." The two quickly went to work removing the problem circuit board, and mending the broken link, whose repair could determine the continuance of their survival. As if the tense atmosphere couldn't grow anymore tumultuous, Beachcomber relayed the latest contact countdown. "Thirty seconds to intercept! The probes should be within visual range." For a nanosecond, Ultra Magnus pondered whether choosing not to partake in the visual observation of their possible demise would have been the wiser choice, but he was not one to fear fate or the inevitable. "Teletran, display the incoming probes on screen and secure all systems for an electromagnetic discharge. Inferno, be ready to activate the EMP the instant it's online." Inferno nodded in acknowledgement, but his optic sensors dared not look away from the weapons control panel, looking for the slightest indication that the pulse weapon was ready to fire. Teletran created a multifaceted display of several probes that were rapidly closing in on the shuttle on the primary display screens of all the ships areas, and all Autobots aboard remained frozen in focus…..save for the two working feverishly to save them all. As he worked quickly to complete his end of the broken circuit, Trailbreaker was not so haste as to risk damaging any of the other surrounding components. It would be both ironic and tragic, if they were to fix the igniter, only to have a small act of unintentional carelessness submerge them right back into doom. "There! That end is done. How are you coming?" Without loosing any focus, Jaxer finished off the last bit of soldering and looked up at his friend with a grin. "Got it. Quickly, let's get the circuit board installed." The clarity of the probes was clear as crystal now, as they encircled the wounded spacecraft, and their eerie, foreboding appearance foretold of their deadly function. Beachcomber had expected the probes to violently attach themselves to the ship and detonate in a hail of Autobot destruction instantaneously, but the probes had slowed their rapid approach; not unlike a predator warily pulling up from attacking wounded prey. "Ultra Magnus, the probes are slowing from their immediate intercept course and settling into stationary orbits around the shuttle. I'm picking up heavy sensor scanning. I think they're trying to decipher who we are and our status." Ultra Magnus magnified his optical focus on the probes on the display screen and tried to gauge the Decepticons play. "They may think since we're damaged and derelict, they can salvage a prize. This may be just the break we need. Beachcomber, attempt to jam their scans as best you can, every second they're still trying to analyze, is another second for us to act. Jaxer, you've got to give us something, it's now or never!" As if in a secretive synchronous waltz, Jaxer completed the install of the EMP circuit board just as Ultra Magnus made his last plea, and the visual torrent of activity on the repaired equipment gave a silent response. "We're done! Give it just a few seconds to resync with the mainframe." Though they were far from out of the woods, Trailbreaker put his large, worn hand on his friends shoulder, in an unspoken act of gratitude. Who knew what the next five seconds, let alone five minutes might hold for them all, but the veteran Autobot couldn't help but admire the resilience of his comrades. Seconds ticked liked hours, and not a soul aboard the shuttle dared to breathe…..which was relatively easy for non-biological, cybernetic beings, but their soundless pleas were answered by Infernos' words. "The EMP is fully operational and ready to fire!" Not wasting a precious moment to chance, Ultra Magnus gave the order. "Fire at full power…..now!" With the touch of his finger, Inferno engaged the EMP system, as well as all their hopes to survive the day and live for the next battle.

The sensor probes surrounding the ship continued their scanning despite the modest interference the shuttle was attempting to generate. As they transmitted their data to Vectron and awaited orders for their next course of action, they began detecting increased activity from the ship. A panel atop the ship opened and a large probe like structure began extending beyond the ship, all the while generating a massive build up of energy. Instantly analyzing a threat to the surrounding probes and the possible loss of their Autobot prize, Vectron transmitted a simple, yet irrefutable order…..destroy. Some probes began to extend blasters and targeting the ship, while others began to release proximity mines; which wasted no time attempting to attach themselves to their target, instead they instantly began initiating their detonation sequence. In the distance, the outline of several fighter drones could be seen, as they pushed their systems to the limit to reach their target. All the intensified efforts of the Deceptions' destructive weaponry to destroy the Autobots proved wasted, as the brilliant build up of energy along the ships' probe reached its apex. In a blinding flash of energy and an inaudible thunderous roar in the vista of space; a torrential shockwave of energy exploded outward from the ship, consuming everything within the vicinity. The physical force of the wave was enough to push everything it contacted back with some force, but it was not the impact strength of the expanding energy that was its true power. Sweeping over the probes, the surrounding debris field, even catching the advancing fighter probes (whose sheer head-long velocity rendered them incapable of maneuvering away); everything of a mechanized nature (with the exception of the ship and its inhabitants) began to contort and rupture as its internal technology was wracked with overwhelming energy. The probes jolted and warped as their inner systems were destroyed, eventually loosing all power and semblance of the fearful weapons they had once been. The fighter probes demise came in similar fashion, with their forms exploding with electrical fire as they passed beyond the world of functional cybernetic creations, and were rendered to forever floating shells of one time terrors. As the last remnants of the pulse wave dissipated, the area began to once again return to relative calm, other than the slight hisses and sparks of the various pieces of dead technology.

The shuttle hissed, shuddered, and strained as the heavy energy drain of the EMP combined with the damaged condition of the vessel, threatened to render it powerless but the brilliance of Autobot technology and engineering shone through, as the ship stabilized itself and once again began analyzing its status. For a brief moment, no one could react or say anything of meaningful use, as often comes with a brush with death; each Autobot was consumed in his own brief moment of tranquil reflection on cheating fate of an early departure. Training, focus, and necessity made Ultra Magnus the first to emerge anew from the cocoon of shock. "Teletran, give me status on the ship and pulse wave analysis." Unlike its Autobot creators, the supercomputer responded in the emotionless manner in which it always functioned, "All online systems are operating within minimal energy parameters, but stable. The reserve fuel cell was damaged during the initial incident; loss of critical power is imminent within seventeen hours. Initial EMP analysis indicates all function of Decepticon machinery within the blast radius has lost functional status. Current power status, electromagnetic interference and prior radar circuitry damage is preventing accurate scanning beyond the blast radius, but estimates are at two hours till secondary Decepticon incursion." As the others began refocusing on their tasks and ensuring each other was in good condition, Ultra Magnus considered the situation with much fortune. "Good. That should be more than enough power and time for us to be retrieved. Bluestreak, see if you can raise moon base one, if not get ready to launch an emergency beacon. Beachcomber, keep an eye on the radar, it won't take them long to send reinforcements after us. Seaspray, keep us headed toward the moon bases with whatever she's got." Feeling sufficiently confident that they would be able to get out of their current quandary; the Autobot commander headed off the bridge to check the rest of the crew and the tentative engine repairs. "Ultra Magnus! Radar is indicating the energy signature of a subspace ripple approximately two miles from our location." Whirring on his massive, but amazingly agile heels, Ultra Magnus cursed their luck. A subspace ripple only meant one thing…..someone was warping into their location, and odds were their intentions were to finish the demise they had just escaped. "Triangulate the location of the rift and put it on screen." Teletrans mathematical wonder was able to pinpoint the location of the dimensional rift activity with just enough swiftness, as to see the eerie water-like ripples and arching bolts of energy of a decided Decepticon interdimensional traveler, seemingly burst out of nowhere and angle in menacingly on the near helpless ship. Ultra Magnus was not sure if it was something he had personally done or if it was just his day to be tested, but this was not his day.

Dimensional warping was quiet a unique experience to the senses, even for a cybernetic being, but Skywarp had long since mastered the rigors that came with his unique ability. It was fundamentally an older Cybertronian technology, but as with most technical creations, the past versions were far more hazardous and prone to "mistakes". Mistakes could range from reentry from warping half way embedded in something, to the always fascinating complete vanishing act (and there are dozens of Transformers whose fate has never been determined). For a time, both Cybertronian factions began to leave skills of space and time manipulation to the trusted hands of nonuse, but being ravaged by war for millions of years, virtually always locked in a stalemate tends to make one look for any advantages; past, present, or future, and safe or perilous. The Decepticons were the first to reanalyze warp technology (being more of a high risk, high reward mentality), and over the millennia they had made great strides in improving its safety, accuracy, and power consumption. Skywarp loved having the edge over his competition (be they enemy or ally) and was the first to have the latest single unit, interdimensional warp core installed. It consumed relatively small amounts of his internal energon supply (though too much use could drain him quickly), it was highly secure and accurate over short ranges and with the aid of Vectron on rift calculations and it didn't overtax his cerebral matrix. To this point, the reward had been well worth the risk and nothing energized him more than seeing the terror on Autobots faces when the elite seeker emerged like the proverbial "rabbit from the hat", to rain destruction. It was truly a shame he couldn't see his current adversaries, but imagining their fear would suffice for now.

Roaring through the dimensional rift, Skywarp blazed toward the cripple Autobot shuttle that was making a futile attempt at escaping. With all his sensors operating at maximum capacity he quickly was able to assess what must have happened prior to his warp jump. He detected a massive energy discharge and as he agilely glided amongst the dead probes, it wasn't difficult to guess what happened. H e was having far more luck this day than he had initially entertained, had he been a few seconds earlier in his arrival, the Autobot EMP attack would have surely affected him as well. While his internal makeup was far more advanced than any probe or drone, catching the full brunt of an EMP pulse wave with no prior defenses would have seriously damaged his systems. As it were, he was bearing down on the enemy, who was clearly spent of resources and his for the taking. Coming up from underneath and at the rear, he unleashed a torrent of plasma fire into the engine and cargo bay area of the ship. Not wanting to loose any momentum lest they still have functional weapons, Skywarp blazed in an upward arch from beneath the ship, gaining altitude and position, as he pivoted around and prepared for his next strafe.

The winds of change blew heavily that day, even in the dead calm of space and Ratchet felt certain they must be caught in a galactic typhoon. One moment it appeared they had survived a severe explosion and near fatal Decepticon assault, only to now be assailed by some new enemy phantom. As the shuttle was pummeled with blaster fire that was punishing the unshielded hull, the Autobots were tossed about and struggled to regain both their footing and their wits. Stumbling in as best he could from the current onslaught, Hoist headed toward the unsteady medic. "Ratchet, I need you to check Grapple, he took some bad shrapnel hits from the engine explosion." Catching a momentary pause in the battering, the two Autobots began to head back toward the engine section. The initial events that had damaged tow of their engines and had crippled the shuttle, but this new assault had finished off their one remaining engine and now they truly were dead in the water. Ignoring the site of destroyed machinery, Ratchet quickly focused onto the hulking frame of the large Autobot engineer slumped against a wall. His left arm was quite a mangled mess, where it had apparently been the receiver of several fragments of explosive debris. His long experience and constant repair of the perpetually battle worn Autobots immediately let the medic know that Grapple was going to loose the arm. Seeing the medical officers grim diagnosis in his optics, Grapple sat up quickly and tried to mount any defense he could muster. "Come on Ratchet, no…..you're not taking my arm. I just got this one, and engineering marvels such as myself can't afford to keep replacing limbs, it affects my work. " Ratchet smiled at the pleading Autobot and reassured him that he needn't worry. "Don't worry Grapple, I'm sure we can salvage this one, but it's coming off for the time being. Now let's hurry and get you up before we get hit again, I don't think the engine room can take much more." The two Autobots helped the larger, injured Grapple to his feet and moved toward the passenger compartment.

As the ship lurched and rocked under another round of assailing enemy fire, Jaxer worked furiously with Trailbreaker to restore the shields. The direct pummeling the hull was taking would not last forever, and they had to do something to at least buy more time. Unfortunately, as skilled as they were it was becoming increasingly apparent that the task of salvaging any system, let alone the shields was futile. "Jaxer, this is pointless. There is too much damage to the circuitry, there's nothing we can do. Why hasn't Ultra Magnus begun abandoning ship, at this point it's only a matter of time, some of us should at least try to escape?" The determined engineer stopped in his fruitless efforts to do whatever he could to help through his technological skills, his friend was right…..there was nothing they could fix that would save them now. "As long as we're still this close to the sensor probe array, the escape pods would be picked of in minutes, and clearly the Decepticons know something is going on now, so he's knows that's no viable option. The fate of the ship will be the fate of us all my friend." Trailbreaker shook his head in solemn understanding, Jaxer was quite right; Ultra Magnus clearly would have ordered escape had there been any chance of its success, but trying to escape now would have only ended in a cruel slaughter by the Decepticons automated terrors or the even more nightmarish possibility of being taken prisoner. They had given a good effort and did all they could with the given situation; eventually, everyone's number is called and perhaps it was just their time. "You know, if we make it out of this, I think I might retire from active duty, I'm too old for this crap." Even in the midst of their possible demise, the two long time comrades…co-workers…friends, shared a good laugh. "Who are you kidding; you'll never give it up until your circuits give out or these damn Decepticons get us first." Trailbreaker had another good laugh and reflected on just how much truth Jaxer had spoken.

On the bridge of the shuttle, the crew was busy trying to regroup from another round of blaster fire, and trying come up with something…..anything that could combat this latest menace. With no shields, no functioning engines, no weapons, and Teletrans systems failing all over the ship, there wasn't much of anything left to mount any sort of retaliation or escape. The gravity of their situation was quite apparent, and as much as he hated acknowledging that this might possible be their end, he was a soldier and a leader and he had to do what was best no just for the Autobots onboard, but for all those who would still be fighting tomorrow. "Bluestreak, prepare to launch an emergency beacon with all data logs and personnel reports uploaded and encrypted. You may have to do it manually, but if all else fails, the others need a record of what happened." Bluestreak took in the orders with sullen acknowledgement, fully understanding what his commander was preparing for, but there was no deep need to panic or turn to angst, he would do his job like he always did; as would all his fellow Autobots, to whatever end it led them.

From his quick estimates, the ship clearly had no shielding and its engines were now useless…..they weren't going anywhere and now he could get in a few style points before he contacted backup. Sorting through his available weapons selection, he settled on a moderate concussion missile, a personal favorite. The devastating force of a concussion missile impact was a sight he so loved to behold, if for no other reason than its sheer destructive capacity. As he armed the weapon and locked in his targeting coordinates, he reminded himself not to attack too forcefully and ruin the prize. Prisoners with information would gain him far more praise from Megatron than simply bringing news of a destroyed Autobot shuttle. He was a marksman of exceptional skill and a precision hit along the structural backbone of the ship should do just fine to render it nearly destroyed, but intact with some survivors. With a great sense of elation, he released the missile and quickly began to bank outward to avoid the upcoming destructive fireworks. The missile streaked toward the helpless ship, with no pause or feelings of remorse for its intentions, its only purpose or desire was to inflict damage and pain. Angling downward, the projectile struck the top of the shuttle near its midpoint with devastating force. The force of the impact caused the entire shuttle to strain and buckle, very nearly collapsing in on it self. A good chunk of the impact point had been blown clean off, and a myriad of shuttle parts and other internal objects were forcefully blown away from the ship, joining the growing graveyard of eternally floating debris field. Steering clear of the carnage, Skywarp banked around for a closer look at his work. It could not have been a more perfect shot; the enemies ship had its back broken and all will and ability to resist was gone. With a sense of self satisfaction that was currently shining brighter than the twin suns, he prepared to contact Starscream and relay his heroics and bring in reinforcements to claim the prize. He couldn't help but wonder who all might be aboard, perhaps ha high ranking commander…..or dare he even think it, Optimus Prime. Unfortunately, the combination of the interference of shuttles destruction and his own self absorbed fantasies had drawn his focus away from the dangers his sensors alluded to in vain, and he was about to pay a heavy toll for his carelessness.

With a thunderous boom, Skywarp was blasted end over end, by heavy plasma cannon fire. He had been caught completely off guard and was now taking the very punishment he had only moments ago been dishing out. The furious firestorm continued to assault him with several heavily damaging strikes hitting home. Skywarp struggled against the damage, disorientation, and sheer panic of his mind, to try to stabilize his flight and get some semblance of bearing and identification, on his attacker. A much larger and far more heavily armed fighter roared past him with engines blazing as it circled around for another round of punishment, the outcome of which Skywarp needed no clear mind to comprehend. Finally stabilizing himself and able to get sketchy data from his now damaged radar, Skywarp was stunned to detect the Autobot air commander Sky Linx (arrogant bastard that he was) had somehow gotten the drop on him in his moment of gloating. How had he made it here so quickly? He knew the Autobots didn't use internalized warping systems and there was no way he could have made it to their location from either moon base since the whole scenario had begun. His questioning quickly ceased as he picked up a another radar signature and the large fighter was now advancing on him once more, ready to put an end to all the questions his mind had ever entertained. With his presently damaged condition, and being outmanned and out gunned, Skywarp angrily conceded to his only available option, and angled toward Cybertron in retreat. Realizing that he might not be able to outrun his pursuers in his present condition, Skywarp quickly began to prepare for an emergency warp, though he knew the serious dangers on improperly calculated dimensional rifts. Fortune showed him a slight glint of kindness as he detected his Autobot attackers breaking their chase and turning their attention to the derelict shuttle. Typical Autobot behavior, a weak concern for fallen (and hopefully dead) allies, deterred their focus from finishing an opponent, but considering he was the opponent and was presently limping away in retreat, Skywarp decided to save any further smug comments for another time. He was now grateful for escape, and looked forward to repair and eventual revenge…..after he concocted some kind of cover story for his blown opportunity. The scales of favor had been his to command, but their unpredictability had now tilted in the Autobots favor…..for now.

A haze of smoke filled the innards of the shuttle and the hiss and pop of destroyed electronic equipment sang in a continuous chorus of wreckage. The ship was nearly completely dark, with the exception of some emergency lighting (and any lights within the Autobots themselves) as practically all systems had failed (including temporarily even the artificial gravity system, which was interesting to say the least). Various pieces of equipment were strewn about, having been uprooted in the vicious attack and tossed about almost as if a large tidal wave had sent its power crashing through the shuttle. Autobots here and there slowly stirred and tried to get an understanding of what all had just taken place. The last thing Ultra Magnus could recall was Beachcombers slight warning or an incoming missile strike and additional inbound contacts. He hadn't even had a chance to tell Bluestreak to launch the emergency beacon before the ship was slammed by the missile strike and everything became an undecipherable blur of turmoil. He knew the worst of the hit was to the rear of the bridge, but all within the command section had been jostled about like toys, and even lost gravity for a few seconds. Primary power failed, Teletran was offline, the ship was beginning to drift on all axis, making it increasingly difficult to stay oriented, and the hull had been breached significantly (although emergency power had internally shielded the hull exposures and restored artificial gravity); and yet he was, still alive and not much worse for wear considering. He had several minimal scars, bends, and tears, and right shoulder rocket harness had been torn off, but he was in good condition. From all appearances, the others seemed to be in similar shape, slowly but surely trying to gather their wits. Seeing that no one appeared in serious condition, Ultra Magnus headed back toward the more heavily damaged areas of the ship, hoping for the best, but steeling himself for whatever the dark, smoke filled corridors might lead to. Quickly making his way to the personnel compartment as best he could, he was quite relieved to find that there were only a few moderate injuries. Apparently, the quick and skillful hull reinforcements several of the Autobots had begun after the initial explosion, had given just enough additional vigor to keep the walls from buckling under the intense force of the missile. Ratchet, the level-headed doctor he always was, had setup somewhat of a triage and was quickly assessing injury and determining the best immediate course of action. Grapple appeared to have had his arm removed, and seemed none too happy about it, although the Autobot commander knew his displeasure was more from personal inconvenience than pain. Gears had a large broken metal rod embedded in the back of his shoulder blade area, and it typical Gears fashion his was openly voicing his discontent as Huffer attempted to remove the source of his displeasure. Other than that, everyone had minor scrapes and abrasions, but they were in surprisingly good condition. "Ratchet, as soon as you have assessment on everyone let me know. The bridge crew is trying to get up to speed on what all happened. I'm going to check the maintenance areas to see how bad we are, but we need to get ready to move out, I don't know how long she's going to hold together on us." Looking up from reinserting one of Brawns optic censors (to which he was forceful arguing about the necessity to work on him ahead of others, as he was doing just fine), Ratchet acknowledged the commanders orders. "She has done a fine job for us, hasn't she? It shouldn't take me too much longer, but do me a favor and check on the others in the back. They were almost at the impact site." Just as the commander was turning to continue on, an injured Hoist rushed in, the serious demeanor his face displayed indicated that perhaps their good fortune had been discussed a bit prematurely. "Ultra Magnus, Jaxer and Trailbreaker were working on the mainframe almost directly beneath the blast, and they're covered in debris! I tried to get to them, but I need…" Ultra Magnus put his hand on the injured Autobots shoulder in a sign that he didn't need to explain himself any further. "Don't worry Hoist, we'll get to them. Stay here with Ratchet and get checked out. Autobots, everyone who is able, come with me." The half dozen Autobots quickly headed toward their certainly injured comrades, the urgency of the situation putting their own wounds aside. Since Brawn had sprung up and followed Ultra Magnus before Ratchet could protest, the large medic placed the smaller fireplugs eye into one of his internal compartments and went to check Hoist, who was already attempting to head to the back with the others. "Hold on Hoist, let me check you out first, they will get them out. It won't help anyone if you're falling apart in the process." Hoist relented to Ratchets wisdom and his own internal damage, and eased himself into one of the few upright seats in the compartment as Ratchets diagnostic scanning sensors began to probe his structure. He hoped his two friends were still in working order, but the projectile impact had been tremendous, and they were even closer than he was at the time. Sometimes though, hope was all you had to go on, and for now he would invest all his efforts into hoping for the best outcome.

It was quite a site to behold; the Decepticon missile had hit the top portion of the ship and blown a good section completely off, while the fore caused the entire top level to cave into the level beneath, which was where the supercomputer mainframe was located. Much of the debris had been pulled outside of the ship through the breach point, but as soon as the backup systems initiated the internal breach shields, the rest of the rubble had descended onto the mainframe and the two occupying Autobots. Ultra Magnus and the others worked frantically to move the rubble, but were careful that didn't cause more possible injury to their allies. A one-eyed Brawn was man-handling large pieces of metal as if they were grains of sand upon a beach. The feisty old Autobot was a good bit older than Ultra Magnus and only a third the size; yet he was nearly his equal in physical strength. The unique capabilities, skills, and various properties of the Autobots had always been there trademark strength. The Decepticons were far larger and more physically powerful war machines in comparison, but what the Autobots often lacked in prowess, they made up for in skillful ingenuity and ability. As Brawn tossed a large panel away, he couldn't resist giving a teasing quip to some of the others. "You guys should step aside and let me handle the moving. Some of you youngsters are just too fragile for heavy duty work." "Keep your focus Brawn, and be careful of how quickly you move anything. We don't know where they are and we don't want to this stuff to cave in any worse." Heeding the commanders' words, Brawn knew he was correct and silently regretted his poor timing at humor. Two of his very good compatriots lay buried and could possibly be dead, getting to them was all that mattered and all any of them should have been concentrating on. They continued on in silence until Inferno (who had come from the bridge when he heard help was needed) moved a large beam and made a welcome discovery. The outline of electromagnetic shielding began to emerge as the Autobots moved away smaller pieces of rubble; it was Trailbreakers internal shield unit, dispensing its blanket of protection around his large form. The encouraging site caused the Autobots to quicken their pace in hopes that Trailbreaker was able to extend his shielding around Jaxer as well, but as Ultra Magus pulled away another large panel, his hopes of a complete miracle was dashed with a crushing force heavier than the pile of wreckage on his friends. By all appearances it seemed as if what he had just thought had been attempted as Trailbreaker laid clasping hands with the Autobot engineer, almost if he were pulling him in closer, but time had not forgiving and only the upper half of Jaxers' body was within the protection of the shield.

As gruesome and horrifying as that scene might initially seem, for a Cybernetic life form, a great portion of the body could be destroyed while life was maintained (there had been instance of Transformers being blown to bits and surviving); but unfortunately the heavy debris had crushed Jaxer up to his now exposed and damaged spark chamber. Disjointed and cracked, the Autobots could see the errant flare up of energy escaping the chamber, which they knew was his very life force draining away. They finally had been able to clear enough debris away to where Trailbreaker could lower his shield and instantly crawled toward his dying friend, who hand he still clasped. "Easy Jaxer, don't move. You're gonna be ok and we'll have you fixed up in no time." Ultra Magnus knew even as Trailbreaker said the words, that the Autobot knew he was making false claims, but he (as did they all) understood the pain of loosing not just a colleague but a friend, and if a small fabrication could end any of the pain any of them were feeling, so be it. Having caught wind of the situation, Ratchet raced in hoping to use his incredible skills of repair to try and save his friend, but as skilled as he was, even he could not repair a spark that was damaged beyond repair. Easing the half existent engineer up as easily as he could Ratchet could find no words to bring comfort or peace to such a violent end, he could only reflect on his desire that his friend join the sparks of their Autobot ancestors. Not being one to wallow in pity and remorse, even upon his own death bed, Jaxer tried (and ultimately failed) to lighten the heavy load that was easing upon his surrounding friends "Don't get so down guys. I..I..I fully expect to be outfitted…..with a new state of the art body, something that will make even Sunstreakerrrr jealousssss. Dooo not lett….yourselves grieve my lossss…..too lonnng, I have liiiivvved a fulfilled life amongst you allll and could never have morrrre pride than to call myself an Auttttobottt. Allll my inventions and creattions have meant nothinnng next….to thhhe experiencesss I have sharrred with alllll of youuuuu. Even in myyyy death…I have no regretss other than not seeee the day Optimus leads you to victory and peace." His voice was garbled and distorted as his vocal processor began to give out, and the ever present soft blue glow of all Autobots eyes (a direct reflection of their sparks energy) slowly began to dim and fade. Ultra Magnus knelt down beside Jaxer and clasp the dying Autobots hand. "Jaxer, I'm so sorry to loose you now…like this, you have given us all so much and yet still had so much left to give. Your skill and ability has and continues to save countless lives and your dedication to the rest of us has never faltered, truly you have been and always will be a legend among us." Squeezing his leaders hand with the little strength he had left, Jaxer nodded in proud acceptance of the meaningful words. "Assss eachhhh of youuu haaave forever been legends to meeee. Be stronnng for Prime…all of you. I know innnn my sparkkk he will lead you to the new dawnnnn of peace, buut he nneeeds all your helllp." He reached with a shaky hand into one of his internal compartments and pulled out the object he had been working on at the beginning of their now grim adventure, and handed it to Ratchet. "Givvve thaaat to Wheeeeeljackk foorr mee and wwwatchh over himmm. Heee will take thisss hard, butt one dayyy he will be thhee greatest inventoooor off uss allll." The light flickered and faded and his hand, having no power to support it fell by his side. The flickering energy in his spark chamber silentely faded to a whisper, and as his tilted down, never to rise again, he left them all with one last farewell. "Till all are onnneeeee….." All sounds were, gone, all function had ceased, the glow of his optical sensors ceased and now only displayed the faded grey that his entire frame was quickly becoming, and his spark was forever extinguished. As if in an unspoken agreement, all the Autobots spoke the eternal words that forever linked their sparks, living or dead in unison, "Till all are one."

Bluestreak made his way down to where most of the others had gathered to relay a message to Ultra Magnus. "Ultra Magnus, I've been trying to reach on your personal comm to let you know that Sky Linx is here and….." It was in that instant that the young Autobot took in the site on which all the others attention was focused on, and like everyone around him, he fell into silent grieving. It took a moment for Bluestreaks words to finally process in his mind, but finally Ultra Magnus began to respond. "Sky Linx is here you say?" Drawn out of his silent vigil by his commanders' question, Bluestreak almost welcomed the opportunity to answer to make his mind focus on anything other than Jaxers' body. The sight of violent death had haunted him ever since the destruction of his home city on Cybertron many years ago. Being young and lacking a true understanding of the evil nature most Decepticons relished in, Bluestreak had always been torn about the war and felt the Autobots should find another solution beyond fighting. At least he had felt that way prior to his homes annihilation. The Decepticons had developed a new chemical weapon that could eat through most metals (including the bodies of almost all Transformers) like fire burning wood. Megatron had order it be disbursed within his home city as a "test" of its effectiveness. The so called test wiped on ninety percent of the inhabitants and the majority of all the structures, and rendered the entire city to a horribly gruesome amalgamation of torturous death. His city held no military importance or strategic advantage; in fact it was the fact that it meant nothing that had led Megatron to use it as a testing ground. In some semblance of silver lining, the weapon was deemed too dangerous to use, even by the Decepticons and to his knowledge had never again unleashed its horrors upon anyone. Bluestreak had been young and naïve up until that day, but afterwards he quickly grew up with a hard learned lesson of what true evil was, and why it must be challenged and defeated at any cost, lest the price his one beautiful home had paid would be in vain. A part of the happy-go-lucky personality he had was born out of those horrible memories; he had learned that light-hearted humor was often an effective tool to draw others out of the dark mindset that war and carnage often created. Now though, he would make no silly comments or even encouraging remarks, now was the time for silent remembrance and reflection, and to continue to perform his duty in tribute to his fallen friend. "Yes sir, he and some of the Aerialbots arrived just in time to stop Skywarp from finishing us off. They think he may have been working on their blockade system by chance, when he detected our shuttle and attacked. He's awaiting your orders now. I tried to raise you several times, but I think your comm is down." A quick internal scan revealed that his primary internal communications antenna had been damaged, and in all the commotion he hadn't even realized it. Activating his backup system, Ultra Magnus took one last somber look at Jaxer in deep sadness, and then returned to the command duty that he knew had to be maintained.

"Sky Linx, this is Ultra Magnus. I hear we have you thank for saving us, a few minutes longer and none of us would have made it." Knowing all to well the type of verbal response he would receive from the egotistical but undeniable skillful air commander, Ultra Magnus paused for the self praising remarks. "Well I'm glad you're finally able to acknowledge the tremendous skill that saved your hides. If it weren't for my superior aerodynamic expertise and unmatched fighting ability, I think you Autobots would be lost." While most would be highly annoyed to hear such a parade of self congratulations, any who knew Sky Linx, knew that was just his nature, to think very highly of himself. Ultra Magnus did not have time however to indulge in too much praise and pressed on with the greater immediate concerns. "Initial reports indicate the ship is intact, at least enough for us to be towed to moon base two. I want you to go ahead and initiate a tractor beam and begin to take us in. Have the Aerialbots fly in cover formation and scan for any further activity. I wouldn't put it past the Decepticons to regroup and take another run at us if they think they can." Slightly perturbed he didn't get any additional praise and humored that any Decepticon might consider coming back to a fight knowing he was present, Sky Linx was quite amused. "Ultra Magnus, do you actually think they would come back for another round of punishment with me. Unless Megatron bring his entire seeker squadron we have as much chance of encountering more Decepticons as…" "Sky Linx, just engaged your tractor beam and start taking us in. We don't have time for long discussions; this ship is barely keeping together, there are some injuries aboard and…and Jaxer is dead." The silence of the moment let Ultra Magnus know that even one such as Sky Linx was not above the pain of loss. "I…I'm so sorry to hear that, I didn't mean to come off as if I didn't…I'm sorry. He was an amazing Autobot; I can't believe he's been lost." "Neither can I, but this war has never played favorites or showed mercy. Its just endless cycle of death and destruction, and it will all be meaningless unless we win this war and make sure that Jaxer and so many others didn't give their lives for nothing." Ultra Magnus could hear the rev of Sky Linx engines as he pulled ahead of the shuttle, and there was a slight shudder as he engaged his tractor beam. "I hear you. I'll take it slow, but we should get to moon base two within twenty minutes." As they made their way toward the moon base, a burning question reignited in Ultra Magnus' mind as to how their savior had such good timing. "Sky Linx, how were you and the others able to make it to us so quickly? Even from the perimeter of the shields, there is no way you could have reached us that quickly when we were being attacked." There was a longer pause than usual from the Autobot wordsmith, and Ultra Magnus guessed he was still attempting to temper his normally bloated dialogue, in light of the current circumstance. "After we detected the initial explosion, Optimus ordered me and the flight team to make for your position with all haste. We weren't sure what happened, but he knew you would need assistance. I have no idea why Skywarp was out there, but it's a good thing we headed in your direction. I'm not sure how much more the shuttle would have taken." The Autobot commander concurred as he looked about the still smoldering shuttle, "You're right, I think the last of our luck had run out; but thanks to you, Prime, and Jaxer, we escaped lady lucks grasp." The mammoth Autobot could not resist an opening and had to shine just a little more light on himself. "Well when facing such a daunting opponent as myself, it's no wonder she decided to fold her hand." Ultra Magnus couldn't hide his grin, as the huge fighting ace pulled the interlocked shuttle away from ring of Decepticon carnage, which had once again cost them so dearly.

Finally within the safe confines of their base of operations on moon base two, a flurry of activity surrounded the shuttle. First and foremost, Jaxers' body was removed and taken to the medical lab for examination and holding until he could be properly laid to rest. Despite the never ending activity and endless need for his presence here or there; Optimus Prime was front and center as Jaxer was carried away, silently paying his respects to a great Autobot (as did all present who were present), and an even better friend. There would be time put aside for fond memories and reflection, but for now even tragic loss could not pull the Autobots focus away from their constant preparations in war time. All other significantly injured were taken to the medical lab with Ratchet for analysis and repair; all of which would take no more than a few hours and then they would once again ready to jump back into the fray. Despite the heavy damage to the shuttle, it would be repaired quickly and put back into the service, as was the Autobot way. There was rarely anything that was rebuilt, reused, or recycled, short of it being unsalvageable. This was one of the adaptable skills that made them such resilient survivors. Teletrans' onboard system was removed and taken for data recovery and analysis, to see if any indications of what had initially happened could be discovered. Ultra Magnus stood in the command observation room and watched the activity below with a sense of both a commander's focus and a weary warrior's fatigue. They had been fighting for so many countless generations, and he couldn't help but fall back to Jaxers' dying words. Could it be possible that the end was near? One could only hope, and hope was something that the stringent Autobot never allowed himself to embrace too easily; but despite himself he could not help but hope that his fallen friend was right.

The door to the observation room opened and Optimus Prime entered in his always unassuming, yet hauntingly majestic fashion. Walking over beside his friend, he also began to watch the flood of commotion within the hangar bay. As they silently watched for a few moments, Optimus handed the larger Autobot a data pad with an endless stream of information on various recent activities, including an update on their shuttle adventure. As he scanned through the information in a subconscious blur that only a Transformer could maintain, Optimus finally turned to him and spoke. "I spoke with Ratchet and determined that we will not attempt to restore Jaxers data cells, he has served the Autobot cause proudly for so long…..he has earned his rest. How are you feeling?" Ultra Magnus paused from his information overload to think about the question. It was fairly simple and could be easily answered in similar fashion, but it also had a complexity that could take days to explain, in an entirely different meaning. "Tired…..but focused." As simple as the answer appeared, Optimus fully understood what his second in command meant, and shared his weary determination. "I understand. We've lost so many and so much for so long and yet each loss bears the weight of the ages within its own right. It's so hard to believe Jaxer is gone, I can still remember him building his contraptions even before I was Prime. This war…..it has affected so many generations of Autobots; for good or bad I am never truly certain. I know the reason we fight is true and just, but is there ever truly any good that can be born of so much death." Ultra Magnus paused to think about his friends' statement. As always, it was as if Optimus could pierce his outer frame and look directly into his spark and read every feeling and thought that flowed within his mind. "I believe so; we fight for a better tomorrow for the ones yet to be. Even if we win the war, the internal damage of battle may never be erased from old soldiers like you or I, but perhaps the younger Autobots can finally know and embrace an existence of peace. Just like Jaxer, we fight for them; and perhaps we won't live to see them flourish in a world of peace, but we must always do all we can to secure it for them. Optimus patted his good friend on his broad shoulder; there was never any clearer explanation as to why Ultra Magnus was his second. "I couldn't agree with you more." Moving toward a large table in the observation room, Optimus beckoned his friend over for continued discussion. "I know you have almost as many questions as the others about all the recent activity here and why I brought all the commanders in, and I assure you, my lack of detail has only been for security sake. Megatrons spies are growing amongst us everyday, and I could not risk this information being discovered at this point." As Ultra Magnus eased his massive frame into a chair, he leaned forward intently focused on where exactly Prime was going, "What exactly are you planning Prime?" Optimus looked directly into his friends eyes with a ferocious intensity. "The days of us running and hiding from the Decepticon onslaught are coming to an end my friend. The time has come for us to make preparations to end this war once and for all. For too long we have allowed our existence to be whether or not we could survive to the next battle, but no longer; now we will take the fight to the enemy and WE, not the Decepticons will decide the destiny of our race. Our fate is our own to determine; come success or failure, and our fate will not be found hiding from Deception oppression….. It will be found battling our foes to victory or death, and it will begin among the stars."

*****

**Authors Notes: **This is my very first fanfic, and I couldn't think of anything I'd rather delve into, than my favorite childhood cartoon. My love of the Transformers and their expansive world has been ever-present, and this is just my ode to the characters and stories I've enjoyed so much over the years. I really imagine this as a re-imagining of the basic story, mixed with bits and pieces from the various Transformer mediums, as well as my own ideas. Obviously a lot of it is just what I envision, but I hope everyone finds it true to the spirit of the original. I'm aiming to tell a very long detailed story that will cover a lot of ground, and hopefully I will see it through to the end (I know how often stories end up never finished and dead in the water, lol). I really hope true fans of the series enjoy it and I appreciate any _constructive_ criticism, opinions, suggestions, ideas, request, etc. Please don't kill me for any misuse of characters, stories, jargon, etc., I'm gonna try to be true to the base characterizations we've come to know (for example, Optimus is the strong noble leader), but I definitely have a lot of my own ideas and influences in the characters and story. Enjoy!!

**Chapter 1: **I'm starting the story on Cybertron to try and really develop a good feel for what's going on with both sides and what eventually will lead to their journey to Earth. I really wanted the Autobots to be resilient and resourceful, but tired and worn from the trappings of war. Their plight is growing more desperate and driving them to greater extremes. One thing I really plan to build on is how different age groups of Autobots view the war; older guys are weary but fight on for the greater good of the future generations, while many younger ones are overly eager to do their part in the fight while not totally understanding the true horrors of war. The Decepticons didn't get much this chapter, but ther voices will be heard soon enough. I kind of envision them almost as pirates; they are a fearsome bunch who can wreak havoc, but they are also cut-throat and scheming. Megatrons' rule is simple; the strong rule the weak and he is the strongest, but he isn't foolish enough to think he can rule through his will alone. Just as much as he fights the Autobots, he fights to maintain control and unity of his own Decepticons. I don't plan to introduce too many of my own characters (Jaxer), except for some "red shirts" who might make quick exits. I really wanted an important Autobot figure to die quickly to give gravity to their situation, but I'm not killing off any established characters.....just yet. There are so many characters in the Transformers world that obviously not everyone will get their due, but I will try to develop some level of depth with most of the more notable characters. Stay tuned for more.....


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